Do you remember the dairy free sour cream I made last year? Who knew that making a casein free alternative to sour cream was even possible? Inspired by another visit from my gluten free and casein free best friend, I needed an alternative to the milk I use to make Cafe con Leche each morning. I added almond milk to my grocery list and then I remembered that I could make it instead.
I’ve been hearing for years now that making almond milk at home was a simple thing. I found directions here, here, here and here. As it turned out, milking an almond really was almost unbelievably simple.
Rinse the soaked almonds with water and place in the blender. Add 4 cups of water and blend on high until the water is white and frothy. This took just a minute or two with my Vitamix. In a standard blender it might take a minute longer.
Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and then line it with a thin tea towel, cloth napkin or cheesecloth. Pour the almond mixture through the cloth into the bowl, about ⅓ at a time, allowing most of it to pass through the cloth before adding more.
Carefully pick up the cloth by the corners and wring the rest of the milk through the strainer into the bowl.
You can discard the almond meal now or save it to use in different recipes. I spread mine out on a baking sheet and dried it out in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Then I tossed it in the freezer to use at a later date.
I used the almond meal to make some fantastic gluten free and dairy free brownies. When you are ready to use the almond meal, take it straight from the freezer to your food processor and pulse a few times. Then use per the recipe directions.
Taste the milk and see if it is too nutty for your tastes. I added a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla to my almond milk. I also added about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it.
If you are adding the honey, it’s easiest to just pour the milk back into the blender and pulse it once or twice to combine.
Pour the almond milk into a glass jar and refrigerate until needed. The milk will separate in the refrigerator; simply give it a light shake before pouring.
How to Make Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 4 cups filtered water
- pinch of salt
- Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla and honey to taste
Instructions
- Soak the almonds overnight in filtered water. I placed the almonds in a quart mason jar and then filled it with water. Let them soak for at least 8 hours.
- Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and then line it with a thin tea towel, cloth napkin or cheesecloth. Pour the almond mixture through the cloth into the bowl, about ⅓ at a time, allowing most of it to pass through the cloth before adding more.
- Carefully pick up the cloth by the corners and wring the rest of the milk through the strainer into the bowl. Taste the milk and see if it is too nutty for your tastes. I added a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla to my almond milk.
- I also added about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it. If you are adding the honey, it's easiest to just pour the milk back into the blender and pulse it once or twice to combine.
- Pour the almond milk into a glass jar and refrigerate until needed. The milk will separate in the refrigerator; simply give it a light shake before pouring.
Joanne says
I love almond milk but always buy it. Who knew how easy it was to make homemade! Yum!
Sue/the view from great island says
This seems like magic to me! i can't believe how white and creamy and 'milky' this is. I've wanted to try for a long time, thanks for the instructions!
Rebecca Subbiah says
looks delicious
Joy Bee says
Cool. This is a great tutorial. Thanks.
Angela Buege says
My husband experimented with this recipe & ended up with only 2 1/2 cups of milk, any explanation? He used a Blendtec.
Mary says
Hi Angela,
I have no idea how he could have only wound up with 2 1/2 cups of milk, if he started with 4 cups of water. Did he squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the almond pulp? There should have been a good amount of liquid in the pulp that you squeeze through a cloth. I can't imagine where the liquid would have disappeared to otherwise.
Mary
Angela Buege says
Knowing my husband, he probably didn't squeeze it enough..making the brownies today with the almond meal! Thank you for your reply.
Jessica Allen says
I just made my very first batch! It was super easy and tastes yummy! I learned the hard way when you say use a blender, you mean use a blender. For some reason I thought I'd use my food processor since it's quieter…big mistake! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
Anonymous says
does the milk have an expiration date??
Mary says
We drank ours within a week, but I'm thinking it would probably be fine for at least a couple weeks. I can't think of any reason why it would go bad more quickly than that.
Anonymous says
Hi Mary,
I'd like to know if it tastes any different if i bring it to boil? thanks. Rebeka
Mary says
Hi Rebeka, I haven't boiled mine, but we did make hot chocolate with it and it tasted great. I don't imagine there would be a problem with bringing it to a boil. Enjoy!
Tallest says
tried it and I am NEVER going back to store bought almond milk
Tallest says
I will never buy almond milk in d store again and my son loves it and i know EXACTLY what is in it. thank you Barefoot in the kitchen.
jayshree maharaj says
Can i use my bamix hand blender for this?
Mary says
Unfortunately, I don't think that a hand blender would be strong enough for the almonds.
yayis says
Hi, I put my almonds to soak and then my child got sick, so didn't get round to making the milk till 2 days later. Do you know if the almonds go off while soaking for this long? or is it normal that it smells a bit iffy? Thanks
Mary says
I've never soaked them that long. I looked around for more information online and it sounds like if they smell bad, they probably are bad. I've never noticed any smells at all when soaking mine. Here is a link with more information: http://sproutpeople.org/almond.html
Maria Calufetti says
i love raw almond milk, i personally love the ratio of 2 cups soaked almonds to 3-4 cups water. it's a stronger nutty flavor. i, also after draining, add my milk back into the blender and add a date or 2 for sweetner. and i've never soaked longer than 24 hrs….
Sam says
I recently started using the almond pulp from a first batch of almond milk to make more almond milk. It works pretty well!
Rachel Page says
Wonderful! Thanks! I’m gonna give it a try.
Rie says
Hi Mary!…..Found you through foodiewithfamily. I have been having a nice time 'getting to know you' looking around your recipes. Love finding new sites. Question/clarification: you discard the water that the almonds were soaking in and add fresh to the blender, correct?…….Happy to have a new blog to follow….Best wishes.
Mary says
Yes, discard the soaking water and use fresh for the blender. (I'm so glad you found me through Rebecca! I'm glad you're enjoying the recipes.)